In 2022, World Digital Preservation Day was celebrated on November 3rd. To mark this date, the FCCN Unit will be highlighting this topic throughout the month. We begin by explaining what Digital Preservation is and its important role today.
According to UNESCO, Digital Preservation consists of all processes aimed at ensuring continued access to digital materials. Given the current context, marked by the high production and consumption of information and digital content, it's easy to understand how this area is particularly relevant, as it fulfills the objective of ensuring the continuity of existing digital heritage.
Thinking specifically about the online world, the volatility of digital information is clear from the following statistic: millions of web pages are published every day, and 80% of this information will disappear within a year, becoming inaccessible. Work in the field of digital preservation makes this information accessible for consultation and analysis.
In order to raise awareness among the population about the importance of this activity, Digital Preservation Coalition established World Digital Preservation Day, celebrated on the first Thursday of each month. The day is celebrated by digital preservation networks around the world, sharing the benefits and opportunities that arise from the work of this community. In 2022, the central theme of this celebration is "Data for All, For Good, Forever”.
The FCCN Unit is part of a service working in the area of Digital Preservation – Arquivo.pt, which has been preserving archived information from the web since 1996. All collected and preserved information is also processed to make it searchable and accessible to anyone. This access is provided through a search engine that allows anyone to "travel back in time" through websites.
If you are interested in learning more about this topic, the manager of Arquivo.pt, Daniel Gomes, has published some articles on digital preservation, highlighting, for example, his role in Open Science or the way it allows combat disinformation actionsYou can also visit the Arquivo.pt page to learn more about this FCCN Unit service.
